The heavy, measured breathing of the predator was the loudest thing in the world, thanks to Minoru's newly granted Enhanced Senses. Every inhale was a deep, rumbling force, and every exhale carried the hot, musky scent of raw meat and aggression. He was pressed flat against the stone, the cold dampness seeping through his thin, greenish skin, but his mind was racing with the cold, calculated logic of a man trying to talk his way out of an impossible merger.
Attempting to fight was suicide. Fleeing through the carnage-strewn entrance was a close second. His only chance lay in diverting the creature's attention, drawing it away from the tight, predictable cave entrance so he could either escape or, impossibly, find a tactical advantage. He needed to make a sound that suggested a meal was available, but one that was accessible elsewhere.
Minoru silently shifted, crawling on his belly toward a small crevice in the wall about five meters back from the entrance. The scraping of his claws on the stone felt like thunder in his own ears, but the predator's focused attention on the sounds of the dying outside meant it hadn't registered his movement.
He stopped at the crevice. It was a dark gap, wide enough for him to squeeze into if necessary, but importantly, it amplified sound inward. He needed to project a noise that was compelling enough to distract the creature, but that clearly originated from a difficult-to-reach spot, like a trapped animal inside a burrow or a deep fissure.
He focused, drawing upon a sound he remembered hearing once, years ago, when a stray cat had been injured outside his apartment complex. It was a high, thin, mournful sound, weak but persistent. He took a shaky breath, then forced air through his goblin throat. What came out was not the elegant whimper of a cat, but a pathetic, reedy "Wheee…p." It was high pitched and shaky, the sound of utter defeat, but loud enough to pierce the gloom.
The effect was instantaneous and terrifying.
The heavy breathing outside stopped. The only sound left was the drip, drip, drip of blood. Minoru froze, every muscle in his newfound goblin body coiled tight, waiting for the massive form he sensed to crash through the entrance.
Instead, the predator's position shifted. Minoru's Enhanced Senses tracked the heavy scraping of massive paws on the stone outside. The creature wasn't entering; it was circling.
It's assessing the source of the sound, Minoru realized, relief battling with paralyzing fear. It knows that noise didn't come from the easy prey it was just dealing with. It's checking the surroundings.
This was his chance. He quickly pushed himself back, crawling faster and deeper into the cave, past the miserable straw pallets that were home to his murdered clan. He needed to find a vantage point.
He focused his Appraisal on the creature, needing to know exactly what kind of monster he was dealing with before it realized the whimper was a diversion.
I need to know its power level!
He forced the skill to stretch beyond the visual, using the intense sensory data of smell and sound as a proxy for visual contact. A flood of terrifying information hit his mind.
Name: Fangjaw Wolf (Alpha Class)
Race: Greater Magic Beast
Affiliation: None
Magius: 750 / 800 (High)
Skills:
• Hunter's Stride (Active): Silent, high-speed movement over any terrain.
• Corrosive Fangs (Passive): Bites inflict poison and decay wounds, preventing natural healing.
• Pack Leader (Unique Skill): Emits an intimidation aura; attracts lesser Fangjaw Wolves.
• Aura Perception (Adaptation): Can sense the presence and approximate strength of Magoi users within a 50 meter radius.
Minoru nearly choked on his own breath. 750 Magius? Pack Leader? Corrosive Fangs? He was a miserable 20 Magius Lesser Goblin. The creature outside wasn't just a threat; it was a disaster. This beast was a miniature army unto itself, and its Aura Perception meant his meager 20 Magius store was probably already pinging on its radar, a pathetic little blip next to the stench of the dead goblins. The whimper wasn't just a distraction; it was a clock counting down to his demise.
Suddenly, a loud, sniffing sound resonated right at the entrance, followed by a low, powerful growl. The wolf had found the source of the recent goblin carnage—his dead kin—and was following the lingering scent of his own Magius signature, now slightly altered by his sudden skill acquisition.
"Kchhh…" The sound the wolf made was terrifying, like grinding stone. Then, a massive, furred head partially blocked the cave entrance. It was easily the size of a small car, with eyes that glowed with a malevolent, faint red Magoi light. Its exposed teeth were long, curved ivory covered in a greenish, oily film.
Minoru was hiding behind a large, slightly angled boulder about ten meters into the cave, utilizing the darkness and the boulder's natural shadow. His fear was so intense that he nearly vomited, but the cold logic that had saved Ms. Kawamura kicked back in. Panic will get me eaten.
The wolf took a step into the cave. Its massive body scraped the rough ceiling, showering dust and loose pebbles. It moved with the devastating silence indicated by its Hunter's Stride skill, a heavy tread that made no sound until its foot actually landed with crushing weight.
It swept its glowing red gaze over the crude camp, dismissing the dead goblins outside, its focus now entirely on the deeper scent and the trace of Magoi it had sensed. Its eyes passed directly over Minoru's hiding place. The wolf couldn't see him clearly yet; the Enhanced Night Vision of the goblin body was an advantage over the beast's natural, but perhaps less concentrated, night sight.
The wolf snarled, a deep, earth-shaking rumble, and took another step forward. It was covering distance alarmingly fast.
Minoru knew he had perhaps three seconds before the beast's superior senses zeroed in on the exact location of his tiny Magius signature. He needed a diversion, something physical.
His eyes darted around the immediate area. Nearby was a pile of small, smooth stones—the Magoi-infused light sources he had appraised earlier. They were about the size of an apple and radiated a soft, greenish light.
If I throw one of these, I can create a flash or a noise to send it off track.
He grabbed one of the stones, feeling the strange, subtle hum of the Magoi within it. He didn't know how to use the Magoi itself as a weapon, but the stone was heavy enough to make a decent clatter. He wound his arm back and hurled the glowing stone toward the opposite wall, aiming for a small alcove where the shadows were deepest, perhaps suggesting another way out.
Clang!
The stone struck the rock wall with a sharp, resonant noise, then rolled into the alcove, the green light bouncing erratically.
The Fangjaw Wolf instantly spun its massive head toward the sound. Its eyes narrowed, sensing movement and light where it expected only static rock.
"Kchhh… Grrrrr," the wolf growled low in its throat, clearly deciding the noise was more important than the scent.
This was the moment. The wolf was focused. Minoru didn't hesitate. He burst from behind the boulder, a blur of pathetic green motion, and ran toward the cave entrance. He ran low, keeping to the shadows, relying on the wolf's slow reaction time due to its size, and the fact that its attention was momentarily fixed on the wrong direction.
He scrambled past the massive, dusty flanks of the wolf, smelling the pungent, wild odor of its thick fur. For a moment, his hand brushed against the creature's rear leg. It felt like rough leather over pure muscle.
He reached the mouth of the cave, leaping over the scattered remains of his kin, and burst out into the night air.
The forest surrounding the cave was dark, lit only by the faint light of a crescent moon and the strange, purple glow of certain crystalline moss on the tree trunks. The world here was fundamentally different. The trees were tall, reaching structures, their bark covered in fibrous, mossy growths that seemed to thrum faintly with latent Magoi.
Minoru didn't stop to admire the exotic flora. He ran. He ran blindly into the brush, forcing his short, underdeveloped goblin legs to move faster than they should have been capable of. The sheer adrenaline of knowing a 750 Magius Alpha wolf was right behind him fueled his sprint.
He could hear the wolf's delayed reaction. A frustrated roar echoed from the cave mouth, immediately followed by the sound of heavy pursuit. The wolf was using Hunter's Stride now, the sound of its massive paws vanishing into silence for long stretches, only to reappear close behind with a menacing thud.
I can't outrun it, Minoru thought desperately, dodging around the root of an immense, glowing tree. I'm too slow, too weak. I need to get rid of this thing or hide in something it can't follow.
He wished he could throw off the wolf's scent. I wish I could mask the trace of Magius I'm leaking!
The cold, dispassionate voice returned:
[Adaptation criteria met. Desire for self-concealment against superior tracking skill.]
[Adaptation: Magius Suppression granted. Passive Magius leakage minimized. Requires 5 Magius for initial activation and 1 Magius per minute maintenance.]
Another surge of pain, this time a dull pressure centered in his tiny solar plexus. He felt a weird constriction, like a dam closing inside his body. He checked his status.
Magius: 15 / 100
He had successfully hidden his scent and his Magius signature, but at a massive cost. He was down to 15 Magius, and every minute he ran, he would lose one more unit of precious energy.
He heard the wolf crash through the bushes just twenty meters behind him. It had slowed, confused. It was sniffing the air, its tracking disrupted by his new skill.
He saw his opening: a dense cluster of towering, thorn-covered bushes with thick, interlocking branches, creating a dark, nearly impenetrable tangle. If he could squeeze inside, the thick vegetation might buy him the time he needed.
He dove headfirst into the thorns, enduring the sharp, tearing pain that scratched his fragile skin, focusing only on forcing his way to the center of the brush.
The Fangjaw Wolf arrived at the edge of the bushes moments later, its immense head snapping back and forth, confused by the sudden loss of track. Minoru could hear its heavy snorting, just a few feet away.
He was safe for now, but totally trapped, unable to move without revealing his location through the rustle of leaves.